Texas Bicycling News Digest April 9th 2016

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2016 Flat Rock Ranch MTB Race – Near full lap

by TC www.turnincranks.com

Cat 2 40-44 as much race as my batteries could handle. Finished 2nd. You’ll hear some interesting commentary if you listen closely, ha, sorry for the language =x

Ironman officials scramble to approve cycling route changes

By Bridget Balch www.houstonchronicle.com

Woodlands triathlon’s path changed due to construction

Organizers and government leaders are scrambling to secure a route for the 112-mile cycling leg of the Ironman North America Championship triathlon after construction forced riders off the original path. …

Veterans take on Texas Challenge

By Harrison Grimwood www.muskogeephoenix.com


A 480-mile cycling challenge that kicks off Sunday will be a milestone for Jason Denny and three other veterans, he said.
“This is going to be a commemorative ride for us, too,” Denny said. …

Wed night A minus ride,Lisa & Sue style

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2016, 5:30 PM

River Run Plaza
1071 Country Club Rd El Paso, TX

4 Cyclists Went

The scary fast racers leave at 6 from Rio Plaza, so we stay ahead of them riding at 20-22ish mph. They don’t catch us. That’s the plan. 22 miles, leaving promptly  at 5:30.

Check out this Meetup →

Tour de Cure 25th Anniversary Ride

www.kiiitv.com


CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) – On your mark, get set, GO! Cyclists gathered to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Tour de Cure! Since 1991, Tour de Cure riders have raised over $250,000,000 to help move closer towards the ultimate goal to Stop Diabetes! …

An Englishman in America

By Rob Lee

Apr 8: To Tornillo
Friday April 8, 2016, 89 miles (143 km) – Total so far: 3,064 miles (4,931 km)
A couple of milestones today. I’m writing to you from the final county in Texas. I’ve also now crossed into Mountain Time!
The morning started cool and cloudy. A few spots of rain fell but nothing more major than that. Leaving Del Rio it was back on the Interstate. There was a reasonable climb, but thankfully being the Interstate this had been well graded so it was steady and in no way steep. …

Apr 9: To El Paso
Saturday April 9, 2016, 51 miles (82 km) – Total so far: 3,115 miles (5,013 km)
I was woken this morning by the sun shining into the tent. Considering the change to Mountain Time that actually makes for a fairly reasonably timed wake-up call!
Overnight a few waves of storms had passed over, but the morning was wonderfully calm and already warm in the sun. I was keeping a watchful eye for the two swans at the fishing lake. One of them seems to be extraordinarily aggressive! Trying to go to the bathroom this morning provoked a lot of flapping and hissing and running after …

Geocaching on a department store bike

By Patrick Blakely www.crazyguyonabike.com

Livingston TX to Huntsville TX – 58.5 miles: More rural riding and a nice lake crossing
Tuesday April 5, 2016, 58 miles (94 km) – Total so far: 1,324 miles (2,130 km)
Woke up a little later then normal, around 8am and was packed by 8:45am. I camped in a right of way of a pipe and not far from a fence that had horses that seemed to take an interest in me. They are calling for great weather except for a good headwind today.
Made it only a half a mile until I spotted a mom and pop donut shop and decided to have a calorie party. Got a creme donut, an apple fritter, and a sausage egg and cheese biscuit along with a diet coke. It went down well as I was determined not to bonk today.
Great weather, rode along US 190, though Onalaska, then came up on the long Lake Livingston bridge. But ut oh, they were doing construction and only had one lane going across it. But they let me pass and it had enough of a shoulder to where I didn’t have to worry too much about traffic. …

Huntsville TX to Bryan TX – 52.6 miles: headwinds but got to see Texas A&M University and Kyle Field
Wednesday April 6, 2016, 53 miles (85 km) – Total so far: 1,376 miles (2,215 km)
Woke up to another beautiful morning with temps in the upper 50s with the highs later day on the low 80s with low humidity. More strawberries for breakfast as this was going to be my last full day of touring for this trip.
Headed west with a very strong headwind today, stopped in a ghost town of Shiro that was all dried up except for one modern convience store. Had chips, snack cake, bean and cheese burrito and Diet Coke for an additional breakfast. Health food you know….
Texas route 30 is a good route. Nice wide shoulders for cycling but a little rough on the tires. The closer I get to College Station, the more the stores increase. It is still rural riding for the most part until coming into town.
A few more geocaches found today and loved watching the herds of cattle on the move. I wonder which of the cattle decides where they head to? But a line of 100 of them just follow each other. Nice to watch. …

Bryan TX – 17.96 miles: just some geocaching and riding around until the bus comes
Thursday April 7, 2016, 18 miles (29 km) – Total so far: 1,394 miles (2,244 km)
Woke up from the Motel 6, watched SportsCenter then began the process of deciding what gear to bring back on the bus. My sleeping pad which had a few holes and the tent went into the trash. The rest I packed up on my bike as I was going to ride around town today, find a spot to donate my department store bike and some geocaching. Didn’t leave until after 9:30am. …

Tom Goes West 2016

By Thomas King www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 41 – west of Sanderson to Marathon, TX: Basin and Range
Saturday April 9, 2016, 46 miles (74 km) – Total so far: 1,884 miles (3,032 km)
Geographers call this the Basin and Range province. I saw miles and miles of Texas today (Bob Wills song lyrics below) all in the same spot. Since Sanderson I’ve ridden up a long basin of fairly level plain surrounded by mountains passing what they call “Draws” or drainage beds. It’s been beautiful.
Another sunny day folks and since a cold front went through the air has cleared of haze and the views are spectacular. I came over a small ridge on US 90 and could see 12 miles of straight away highway toward Marathon. Hardly any traffic. I can go 10 minutes without a vehicle passing. I watch the birds soar, hear them in the bushes along the road. I saw what I thought was a hurd of cattle in the distance and as I rode toward them/it they became little rectangles in a line and then a train coming toward me. 84 train cars pulled by 2 locomotives and one locomotive in the rear. (And you wonder what I do all day on the bike). Saw a Road Runner bird and will add that to my mental collection of rare animals seen in past days and weeks: a horned lizard and a Gopher Turtle (endangered). …

2016 Bent Wheel Bash @ Buck Creek Trails – Full Race

by TC www.turnincranks.com

2016 Full race, Cat 2 40-44, 2nd place finish

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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The Liberty Freedom Ride – Liberty, TX

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I got at 4:50 this morning to allow enough time to get to Liberty for the 7:15 am start time. I made it but I did get lost trying to find city hall in the early dawn semi-darkness. I was 2 or 3 streets east of the start line. I parked east of city hall and walked around to the west side to register.  I did not pre-register but the lady said to check back after the ride to see if they had any extra shirts. I took these pictures at the registration area. (click on an image to enlarge it)

Walking back to the Jeep to unload my bike I spoke to several people. With the short amount of time until the start I did not pass out any Texbiker.net business cards. With the bike assembled I walked back to the west side of city hall and rode to the start line after the prayer. I took these pictures while we waited to start. (click on an image to enlarge it)

The ride began on time and we rolled out at 7:15. The sun wasn’t up above the buildings and it was still chilly. In the rush of starting I forgot to take weather screen shots. I stopped about 1/2 mile from the start and took these.

I was glad I dressed warm with the 54 degrees. I wore shorts, leg warmers, long sleeve and short sleeve jerseys, a windbreaker jacket and half finger gloves. The one thing I should’ve wore was full finger gloves until the turnaround at 22 miles. My fingers were cold but I managed. I saw some people dressed a whole lot lighter than me and I wondered how they could ride. Later at the 35 mile rest stop I asked a lady ride that pulled in how she rode dressed in a tank top and she said she was cold but didn’t want to mess with a jacket when it got warmer.

The route took us on back streets to SH 146 where we headed north. The road had a shoulder most of the time but it was chip’n seal that was worn down enough to not be too rough. We stayed on SH 146 until we got near Hardin where we moved to a county road. The road was rough with lots of patches. We stayed on this until we reached Hardin where the first rest stop was. I took these pictures at the stop.

I didn’t stop longer than to take the pictures. The road continued north and connected back with SH 146. We stayed on it until the turn around. North of Hardin the road offered some hills but the shoulder was smooth and wide. There was one dog chase on SH 146 after I left Hardin but it was on a downhill section and the dog gave up quickly with the speed I had. The rest stop at the turn around didn’t have any riders and I stopped only to check for traffic before riding to the other side to head back to SH 105. At SH 105 the route turned right and had a nice downhill that coasted and rested my legs.

After the downhill on SH 105 the route turned left onto County Road 2107. This was the smoothest road of the whole ride. At a big bend I turned left onto County Road 2099. This road was dog chase alley. The road was smooth but the dogs were quick and usually chase two at a time. I was alone but there were two other bikers ahead of me just in sight. I lost count of the number of dog chases I had but I think it was 6. I caught up with the two bikers in front of me and asked if the dogs chased them and they said yes. Maybe they tired them out so when I got there I could out run them? I finally made it to the rest stop at Olive Bethel Baptist Church around 35.5 miles. The person manning the stop was very friendly and was putting out the food supplies. Not long after I stopped another biker pulled in and we talked about all of the dogs. Come to find out the rest stop worker was the Liberty High School principal. He said he was in his farmer’s clothes and I said he was undercover. He drove his grandfather’s farm pickup to the stop. It was a very old Ford. I ate and drank some water and visited the port-a-potty. The lightly dressed woman biker talked about the dogs and showed me the heal of one of her shoes that a dog had bit on another ride. So far I have avoided that for many many years.

Back on the road there were a few hills but no more dogs. It was a little over 10 miles from the rest stop to the finish line and I got there at 10:32. I remembered to get the weather screenshots.

It was a little warmer and the wind was light. I rode to the registration table to see if they had any shirts left and got one. I chatted with the ladies about the roads, route and the dogs. I asked how many riders they had and one lady said about 125, not too bad for the first year. The shirt is nice.

Liberty Freedom Shirt

With today’s ride my April miles increased to 265 (my goal is 772 for April). This week I biked 194 miles so far. Sunday looks like the weather will be good for riding. I hope my legs are.

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Texas Bicycling News Digest April 8th 2016

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Community discusses former railway plans

By Aisha Baskette www.brownsvilleherald.com


City officials stressed options available to Brownsville on Thursday evening during the city’s second town hall-style meeting regarding the West Brownsville Rail Corridor.
The West Brownsville Rail Corridor Public Discussion …

Injured Veterans to Cycle More Than 425 Miles from Houston to Fort Worth for the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery 2016 Texas Challenge

www.businesswire.com

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–More than 150 injured veterans and their supporters will set off from Houston Monday, April 11, for the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery 2016 Texas Challenge, a six-day, rehabilitative ride that ends in Fort Worth Saturday, April 16. Riders will travel more than 425 miles through College Station, Tomball, Georgetown, Killeen, Fort Hood, Waco and Cleburne, before ending in Fort Worth. …

Getting Ready for Bike Tour

www.lampasasradio.com

Planners and workers for the Lampasas Hillacious Bike Tour are busy today getting ready for the influx of bicycle-carrying cars coming into town tomorrow morning.
The event will hopefully see hundreds of bicycle riders leave the city together for their …

Day 35: Silsbee, Texas to DeRidder, Louisiana – 73 miles

by Tres Smith tressmith.com


Jesus just left Chicago and he is bound for New Orleans. Another cool but beautiful rollout into the town of Buna, Texas and the first SAG of the day at “The Donut Palace.” May have been a franchise because the next one was in the next …

ARR / HCC Trail Work on the Violet Crown Trail!

Saturday, Apr 23, 2016, 8:30 AM

Spec’s
4978 W Highway 290 Austin, TX

5 Mountain Bikers Went

There is a work morning planned for the Violet Crown Trail on Saturday 4/23/2016 at 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Meet at the 290 Trail head at 8:30 AM. We will divide into work groups for the various tasks planned (block short cuts, restore old homeless camp and armor 2nd creek crossing.) Bring work gloves, water (camelbak or water bottle) and dress for th…

Check out this Meetup →

2016 Texas Team Preview : Pure Austin Racing

texasbikeracing.com


Pure Austin Racing
We are a bunch of passionate 40+ racers. Our motto is to ride hard, race hard, and have fun together. We want to race as a team, win as a team, and help the bicycle racing community in Austin and Texas grow and improve. …

RIDE THE CAR-FREE WALNUT CREEK TRAIL ALL THE WAY

Saturday, Apr 16, 2016, 9:15 AM

Don’s Automotive Repair
1636 S 1st St Austin, TX

11 Austin Cyclists Went

OK, we are going to ride the very mellow car-free Walnut Creek trail.  We leave from Don’s Automotive on South First, meet 9:15, WHEELS DOWN 9:30 Five miles to the trail head, trail is about 10-15 miles out. (??)   So about 32 miles total.  BUT, you can fall in at the Govalle Park parking lot on Bolm Rd. alternatively.  Please RSVP with comment pos…

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Tom Goes West 2016

By Thomas King www.crazyguyonabike.com

Day 40 – west of Langtry to west of Sanderson, TX: Prevailing winds from the Gulf of Mexico
Friday April 8, 2016, 65 miles (105 km) – Total so far: 1,838 miles (2,958 km)
Wind 22-36 mph out of the south/southeast – Yea, today’s ride was easy peasy as it pushed me along. My homework on this prevailing wind issue (Are you nuts riding east to west into the wind?) found weather charts that said in West Texas the spring winds blow generally out of the Gulf into the desert. Yesterday and today so true. My days average speed is determined in order of dominance by: 1. Wind; 2. Pavement surface; and 3. Hills. Hills have their down slopes but the first two relentless. …

This weekend’s rides: Mellow Johnny’s Dam Loop! Red Horn!

by Thomas steinerranchcycling.com

Happy Friday!
Tomorrow we will ride to Mellow Johnny’s via Mt. Bonnell! The return route will take us across the pedestrian bridge by Austin High School, through Rollingwood, to Bee Caves where we complete the dam loop. Cuernavaca for extra credit! The full route is 61 miles: https://www.strava.com/activities/296734360 . …

220 Miles of Biking Bliss

bicyclesportshop.wordpress.com


Austin has reached an important turning point in its evolution to becoming a great place to ride a bike. There are more people than ever riding bikes on our city’s streets, but all too often friends and acquaintances say that they are no longer willing to take a chance riding in the city due to our crowded roads and distracted, impatient drivers, and there are too many folks who won’t consider trying …

Southern Tier eastward 2016

By Luba Agranovich www.crazyguyonabike.com

Luba: historical journey
Friday April 8, 2016
Had just 30 miles to ride today, so we took our sweet time. First, we stopped at the Texas Rangers Heritage Center and Fort Martin Scott and spent an hour there. Then we kept stopping to photograph wild flowers of all colors. Wineries and peach farms were almost as numerous as flowers on this stretch of TX 290. The road itself was …

Texas Bicycling from Twitter

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https://twitter.com/bicyclesplus/status/718472471616339970

https://twitter.com/bicyclesplus/status/718470390130044928

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/718429929826684928

https://twitter.com/FtWMntBikers/status/718429345585336320

https://twitter.com/GWCChuck/status/718410351092572160

Successful Edge 520 Bike Ride to Huffman

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I am waiting for the replacement Edge 520 to arrive but I decided to try using the 520 I will send back. It worked almost perfectly with only one short phone disconnect incident which quickly then connected back with a message. This is good because I didn’t activate the RideWithGPS app even though I thought I pushed the record button. I found this out when I stopped at the Huffman Chevron for a break and checked the app.  Maybe the Edge 520 and my Nexus 6P Bluetooth communication improved because the phone install the April update from Google since the time I had all of the trouble on Tuesday. I rode the “Atascocita South – Walden – Huffman” route for a total of 33.16 miles. The weather was great with the temperature bouncing around 79 to 81 degrees depending on where I was on the ride. The partly cloudy sky offered enough sun to feel comfortable and the 9 mph ENE wind helped dry up the sweat I generated.

The ride started later than I prefer leaving home at 1:39 but I missed most of the school traffic except at Kingwood High School. I thought I would get past them but fortunately there was a traffic light where I needed to get across the school parking lot exit. It was slow getting across Kingwood Drive a little further east due to the school traffic but I waited it out.

Riding went smoothly and my legs were rested after not riding yesterday. The ENE wind tried to slow the ride to Huffman but there was enough areas with wind breaks that it wasn’t too bad. The Chevron station was 21.14 miles into the ride. I ate Little Debbie mini-donuts, a trail mix bar and a granola bar washed down with plenty of water. I took this picture of the Edge 520 when I arrive at 3:12 pm.

4-8-2016 Huffman Bike Ride

While I was eating I took these weather screen shots. The temperature was 79.

After about 30 minutes I got back on the bike and started home. The ENE wind helped get my average speed up to 14.9 mph. I got back home at 4:38.

April miles continue to build. I am at 219 miles in my quest for 772 miles for April.

Tomorrow I plan on doing the Liberty Ride in Liberty, TX, about 30 miles from home. It has been many years since I rode over there. The ride starts very early, 7:15AM, meaning an another early getting out of bed. Saturday will start off in the mid 50’s and peak out in the mid 70’s. That’s okay because I got a new Pearl Izumi convertible jacket in the mail this afternoon. I will retire another Pearl Izumi jacket.

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